The untouchables
THE Old World warbler family, Sylviidae, boasts a membership of some 275 species, found throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. (The only Old World warbler species found in the Americas is the Arctic warbler (Phylloscopus borealis), which has extended its range into western Alaska.) Most Old World warblers are sombre, highly insectivorous, migratory and secretive. They have never been well represented in aviculture. However, those available to aviculturists – blackcaps, whitethroats, willow warblers and others – have been maintained successfully and bred. Frank Meaden pioneered the maintenance of Old World warblers and achieved nine first UK breedings.
On the other side of the Atlantic is the domain of the 116 species of wood warblers, the Parulidae. They occur in a variety of habitats other than woods. To the inhabitants of North and South America they
